Tsumeb disciplinary process drags on
Finance manager still suspended
Almost a year and a half after the Tsumeb municipality suspended Karolina Damaseb – with full pay – her disciplinary process remains underway.
It has been 17 months since the Tsumeb municipality suspended its finance manager, Karolina Damaseb, following allegations of misconduct. It remains unclear when the matter will be put to bed.
Tsumeb mayor Mathew Hangula confirmed that Damaseb’s disciplinary process is still underway.
“It is still ongoing. The timeframe can only be determined by the chairperson,” he said.
Damaseb - who has been receiving her full salary while on suspension – yesterday refused to comment on the matter.
She, however, previously told Namibian Sun that there is an agenda against her and stressed that the issue has tarnished her image and made her unemployable.
She landed herself in hot water after allegedly attempting to charge two of her subordinates for misconduct, which backfired – instead, she was placed on forced leave.
This after she in March 2020 reportedly attempted to implement a 2018 recommendation by the auditor-general. Damaseb did not implement the recommendations when she received the audit report in 2018 when she was still the acting CEO; it was only in 2020 that the two subordinates were served letters of misconduct.
Having been given an opportunity to explain themselves, the two then exposed alleged misconduct by Damaseb herself.
Investigation
Council did not take the two employees’ alleged misconduct into consideration, seeing as it was a 2018 matter and Damaseb should have raised it then.
The Tsumeb municipality then approached a consultant, a company owned by Katima Mulilo CEO Raphael Liswaniso, to conduct the investigation.
When the preliminary investigation was concluded, it recommended that the matter be referred to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for further investigation and that Damaseb be suspended in the meantime.
The finance manager was, however, only questioned by the ACC in March, nine months after she was placed on suspension.
Damaseb's absence has led the municipality paying external accountants to prepare its financials, which could prove a costly exercise for the local authority.
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Tsumeb mayor Mathew Hangula confirmed that Damaseb’s disciplinary process is still underway.
“It is still ongoing. The timeframe can only be determined by the chairperson,” he said.
Damaseb - who has been receiving her full salary while on suspension – yesterday refused to comment on the matter.
She, however, previously told Namibian Sun that there is an agenda against her and stressed that the issue has tarnished her image and made her unemployable.
She landed herself in hot water after allegedly attempting to charge two of her subordinates for misconduct, which backfired – instead, she was placed on forced leave.
This after she in March 2020 reportedly attempted to implement a 2018 recommendation by the auditor-general. Damaseb did not implement the recommendations when she received the audit report in 2018 when she was still the acting CEO; it was only in 2020 that the two subordinates were served letters of misconduct.
Having been given an opportunity to explain themselves, the two then exposed alleged misconduct by Damaseb herself.
Investigation
Council did not take the two employees’ alleged misconduct into consideration, seeing as it was a 2018 matter and Damaseb should have raised it then.
The Tsumeb municipality then approached a consultant, a company owned by Katima Mulilo CEO Raphael Liswaniso, to conduct the investigation.
When the preliminary investigation was concluded, it recommended that the matter be referred to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for further investigation and that Damaseb be suspended in the meantime.
The finance manager was, however, only questioned by the ACC in March, nine months after she was placed on suspension.
Damaseb's absence has led the municipality paying external accountants to prepare its financials, which could prove a costly exercise for the local authority.
[email protected]
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